Srinagar: The Barabanki session court on Saturday, May 20, acquitted Gulzar Ahmed Wani for lack of evidence in Sabarmati express train blast case after sixteen years of incarceration, TwoCircles.net reported.

Gulzar a resident of Thaparpore, Pattan in north Kashmir Baramulla district was arrested in 2001 when he was just 28 and was pursuing his PhD from Department of Arabic, Aligarh Muslim University, the report said.

“He along with another accused Mubeen were released by the Barabanki session court of all the charges in Sabarmati blast case by the court today,” APCR National coordinator, Advocate Abubakr Sabbaq who was defending Gulzar, was quoted as saying.

Gulzar was implicated in numerous blasts and alleged of involved in various conspiracies and slapped with 14 FIRs in different police stations of Delhi, Maharashtra and UP and he stands acquitted in all the cases, the report added.

On April 25 last month, when a bail application of Gulzar was moved to Supreme Court, the bench comprising of Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud termed the incarceration of Gulzar a shame and had warned UP government of completing the examination of witness by Nov 1 otherwise it will grant bail to him, the report added.

“Out of 11 cases, he has been acquitted in 10 cases. What a shame! The problem is that you want to keep him inside the jail but not complete the trial. He was acquitted in all other cases,” the bench had observed, the report added.